America+and+surroundings

= America and surroundings =



[|Image by Indiana University South Bend]



[|Image by Worldbirds]

__** Distribution **__ The species is endemic to central Mexico, and found on the slopes of only four volcanoes across the Tansverse Neovolcanic Belt (TNB) - Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl (Sierra Nevada), and El Pelado and Tlaloc (Sierra Chichinautzin). The present distribution is restricted to three discontinuous areas of core habitat which together cover an area of around 386 km². There are a few scattered populations remaining outside the core habitat areas, but these are small and isolated by physical barriers such as highways.
 * Volcano rabbit //(Romerolagus diazi)// [[image:romerolagus_diazi_large.jpg width="300" height="246" align="right"]] **

No reliable estimates, although a survey in the late 1980s suggested that there are around 6,500 around Volcano El Pelado alone.
 * __ Population Estimate __**

Classified as Endangered (EN A1abc+2bc, B1+2bcd+3abc, C1+2a) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
 * __ Status __**

Habitat destruction and illegal hunting are the main threats to survival. A variety of factors appear to be responsible for the continuing erosion of the forest habitat. These include forest fires, overgrazing by cattle and sheep, encroachment by agriculture and property developments, over-exploitation of timber, and cutting of grasses for thatch and brush manufacture. Popocatepetl has been active in recent years and thus a major threat to existing habitat. [|Image by The ASM Mammal Image Library]
 * __ Threats __**

__** Distribution  **__ Occurs from the vicinity of Concepción south to Chiloe Island in south-central Chile and east to the provinces of Neuquen and Rio Negro in Argentina. The species has recently also been reported from Maule region in Los Queules National Reserve and Reserva Nacional Los Ruiles, about 200 km north of its known distribution near Concepción. The populations in this region are thought to be very small and possibly relictual, as the species is thought to have migrated further south at the end of the last Ice Age glaciation.
 * Monito del monte //(Dromiciops gliroides)// **

Unknown. Status __** Classified as Vulnerable (VU A1c) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
 * __ Population Estimate __**
 * __

Outside of protected areas this species is threatened by loss of its restricted habitat. The presence of the black rat (//Rattus rattus//) also represents a threat. Habitat fragmentation is occurring in the northernmost parts of its range (Maule region) as native forests are being replaced with the introduced conifer (//Pinus radiata//). [|Image by Xinhuanet]
 * __ Threats __**

__** Distribution **__ Restricted to remaining fragments of Atlantic coastal rainforest in eastern Brazil. Separate populations survive in the states of Bahia, Espirito Santo and Rio de Janiero. These are thought to be isolated and genetically distinct, with the Bahia population potentially a distinct subspecies.
 * Maned three-toed sloth //(Bradypus torquatus)// **

Unknown.
 * __ Population Estimate __**

Classified as Endangered (EN B1ab(i,ii,iii)) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
 * __ Status __**

__** Threats **__ The maned sloth is the most threatened of the South American sloth species, owing to its restricted geographical range and the disturbed and fragmented nature of its forest habitat. The Atlantic coastal rainforest of Brazil is diminishing rapidly as a result of logging, charcoal production, and clearance for plantations and cattle pasture. Today, the Atlantic forest is reduced to less than ten percent of its original area, and the Mata Atlântica region in which the species lives has the highest human population in Brazil. Maned sloths have a highly fragmented distribution, with large gaps between the major populations. This means that many existing populations may be too small to be viable. The species has traditionally been hunted for its meat, and this may continue to threaten its survival in some areas, despite now being protected by law. [|Image by The ASM Mammal Image Library]

This species can be found in medium–large streams of the upper (Appalachian) portions of the Black Warrior River drainage system above the Fall Line in Alabama, United States. Populations are known from four counties: : Sipsey Fork and Brushy Creek in Winston County, Locust Fork and Blackburn Fork in Blount County, Mulberry Fork, Blackwater Creek, and Lost Creek in Walker County, and Yellow Creek and North River in Tuscaloosa County. The range of this species includes parts of the North River, Locust Fork, Mulberry Fork, and Sipsey Fork drainages and their tributaries, in Blount, Tuscaloosa, Walker, and Winston counties, although Alabama waterdogs have possibly been eliminated from Blackburn Fork, Blount County. This species can be expected to potentially inhabit the same streams as the threatened flattened musk turtle (Sternotherus depressus), which is also restricted to permanent streams above the Fall Line in the Black Warrior River basin. The Alabama waterdog is known from 9 stream segments within its range, and has highly fragmented populations.
 * Alabama Waterdog //(Necturus alabamensis)// **
 * __ Distribution [[image:n_alabamensis_large.jpg width="308" height="242" align="right"]] __**

No population estimate currently exists for this species, although numerous studies and surveys have been carried out in an attempt to determine population trends and dynamics. The Alabama waterdog is known to be a rare species with sporadic occurrences within the presumed geographic range. A 1990-1992 survey by Mark A. Bailey found only a few individuals in four localities. Collections included six adults and one larva in the Sipsey Fork, one adult in Lost Creek, one larva in North River, and one sub adult in Yellow Creek. During another survey in 1996-1997 by C. Guyer, 18 individuals were collected from Sipsey Fork and 11 individuals from Brushy Creek. Even though the Alabama waterdog was extensively surveyed from 1990 to 1997, numbers collected are too low to determine population trends. One hundred and twenty sites have been sampled for this species in the Black Warrior River drainage since 1990. The species has been reported recently from only ten sites (8 % success rate) in four counties, despite surveys in 1990, 1991, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1997, and 1998. Sites surveyed included all stream localities within the range of the species that approached or intersected roads and had appropriate habitat. Distribution, even within the best habitat, appears to be patchy, and abundance may fluctuate from year to year depending on the development of submerged leaf beds.
 * __ Population Estimate __**

The Alabama waterdog is listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species because its area of occupancy is probably less than 500 km sq., its distribution is severely fragmented, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its forest habitat in Alabama.
 * __ Status __**

The primary reasons for the extirpation of this species over much of its historic range in the upper Black Warrior River system are likely to be water quality degradation caused by industrial, mining, agricultural, and urban pollution. The remaining Alabama waterdog populations are isolated from each other by unsuitable habitat created by impoundments, pollution, or other factors. The fragmentation of habitat renders populations vulnerable to catastrophic events such as flood, drought, or chemical spills. In addition, if stream quality improves within areas of the basin, impoundments and polluted reaches will act as barriers to the migration and reestablishment of waterdog populations. This species is also taken for commercial, recreational, scientific, and educational purposes, although this is not considered to represent a serious threat. Disease and predation are not known to be factors in the decline. [|Image by Caudata]
 * __ Threats __**

Endemic to the Gran Chaco region of western Paraguay, south-eastern Bolivia and northern Argentina. It occurs in fragmented populations across a geographical range of approximately 140,000 km². Population Estimate __** The total population size is unknown. The most recent survey (conducted more than 10 years ago) resulted in a population estimate of around 5,000 individuals in Paraguay, with perhaps another few thousand persisting in the dry Chaco regions of Argentina and Bolivia.
 * Chacoan peccary //(Catagonus wagneri)// **
 * __ Distribution [[image:catagonus_wagneri_large.jpg width="238" height="268" align="right"]] __**
 * __

__** Status **__ Classified as Endangered (EN A1acde, B1+2bde, E) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. __** Threats  **__ The main threat to the species is from habitat loss and fragmentation. Native vegetation is being replaced by grass to provide pasture for cattle within the Gran Chaco. This reduces the amount of food available and leaves the animals with no shelter from predators. Peccaries are also declining as a result of overhunting for meat. The species is hunted throughout its range, even within national parks and reserves, and often entire groups are eliminated in a single encounter. Disease may also be a threat; during the late 1970s and early 1980s large groups of Chacoan peccaries died possibly as a result of contracting diseases such as foot-and-mouth and bovine rabies, which were sweeping through livestock populations in the area. [|Image by Ultimate Ungulate]

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